Bulls Abroad: Red Bulls confirm Adams, Lawrence, Murillo & Escobar to miss game vs Minnesota United for national team call-ups

The New York Red Bulls will be without four players from their Best-18 this weekend as Tyler Adams, Kemar Lawrence, Michael Murillo and Fidel Escobar are set to head to their respective national team camps for the March FIFA window.

On Sunday afternoon, the Red Bulls announced that the four players had been called up for the upcoming international friendlies - specifically noting that the four will miss this Saturday’s match against Minnesota United at Red Bull Arena.

Adams was announced as part of the USMNT’s 22-man squad for their March 27 bout with Paraguay in North Carolina. It is the third straight call-up for the 19-year-old, who has started and played the full 90 minutes each time.

Lawrence has been a mainstay for Jamaica, with 45 caps and three goals under his belt for the Reggae Boyz since 2013. Lawrence earned Best XI honors at CONCACAF Gold Cup last year. He was called up this past January for Jamaica’s camp and started against South Korea. Jamaica play a friendly against Antigua & Bermuda on March 25.

Murillo and Escobar were both starters for Panama at last year’s Gold Cup, as well as the World Cup qualifying stage. They have 18 and 19 caps respectively to date but have been rotated in and out of Panama’s starting XI. In preparation, Panama have scheduled four friendlies against UEFA powerhouses over the next three months - with matches against Denmark and Switzerland taking place on March 22 and March 27 respectively.

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Author’s Note: The absence of Lawrence, Murillo and Escobar will stretch the defender depth slightly, basically forcing Jesse Marsch to pick play some combination of Connor Lade, Aaron Long, Tim Parker, Aurelien Collin and Kyle Duncan - or whichever defenders the Red Bulls call up from NYRBII for the match.